The United States Department of Justice released a new report after a yearslong investigation into Georgia’s state prison system. According to the 93-page report, the conditions at Georgia’s state-operated and private correctional facilities violate the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.
DOJ officials say inmates are being assaulted, raped, stabbed, and in some cases killed while being held in unsafe and understaffed facilities.
Georgia has the fourth largest prison population. It’s estimated that nearly 50,000 people are currently incarcerated in one of Georgia’s prisons.
On Wednesday’s edition of “Closer Look,” Georgia State Sen. Randy Robertson, a retired law enforcement officer who chaired the Senate Public Safety Subcommittee on Fulton County Jail, responded to the report findings.
Robertson told show host Rose Scott that he was already aware of some of the issues identified in the report. Robertson further explained that the Georgia Department of Corrections is understaffed and has been understaffed since the 1980s. He said that some of the offenders who are imprisoned are being held on violent charges and the state has a committee looking into the conditions at the correctional facilities.
